"Here you do have forests, where pigs could be raised by letting them root about in the forests for a good part of the year. Therefore, you have a different attitude toward them compared with what continues to exist in the Middle East"

Marvin Harris points out the relationship between environment and cultural attitudes toward pigs. In regions with abundant forests, such as parts of Europe, pigs can thrive by foraging in the woodlands, eating acorns, roots, and other food found naturally. This ecological factor makes pig-raising not only possible but relatively efficient, as raising pigs does not compete heavily with human food sources or require expensive feed. The presence of forests shapes a society’s economic activities and, as a result, its views and cultural practices regarding pigs. Societies in such environments are more likely to see pigs as valuable livestock, integral to both subsistence and gastronomy.

In stark contrast stands the Middle East, where forest lands are scarce, the terrain is often arid or semi-arid, and pig husbandry would be impractical. Without rich forests, pigs cannot forage and would depend on grains and water that are both more profitably allocated to humans or other animals better suited for the environment, such as goats or sheep. This scarcity imposes a practical restriction on pig-rearing, which over generations tends to be accompanied by cultural and spiritual rationalizations, that pigs are unclean, taboo, or otherwise unsuitable for human use. Such attitudes become codified in religious laws and social norms, further entrenching the prohibition of pork.

Harris’s observation underscores how material and ecological circumstances mold societal values and even religious doctrines. The existence of contradictions in pig taboos between regions is not merely due to independent spiritual revelation; rather, it reflects local conditions that foster or inhibit pig domestication. Where it is ecologically sensible to raise pigs, cultures develop a favorable disposition; where it is not, negative attitudes take root, often justified by ideology. The relationship between humans and animals like pigs thus emerges from deeply practical beginnings, with social and religious meanings built atop that foundation.